THE GRANT OF PART OF A WOOD IN CEALTBORGSTEAL BY
EALDWULF, HERETOGA OF THE SOUTH SAXONS, DATED
FROM THE HILL OF BIOHCHANDOUNE, A.D. 791.

BY W. H. BLAAUW, ESQ., M.A., F.S.A.

As the early condition of Sussex during the ages which
succeeded its well-known conquest by AElla and Cissa, in the fifth century,
however interesting, has been little adverted to, it may be well to call
attention to some documents still extant, although not much consulted, and which
contain grants of land to the church from South Saxon chieftains in the seventh
and eighth centuries. They will afford us some explanation of the manner in
which the territory was then occupied and governed, and may illustrate, by their
local application, the masterly sketches of the general history of those times,
on which the learning of Lappenberg and Kemble 1 have thrown so much
recent light.

It is stated by Lappenberg (i, 248), that " the
importance of the kingdom of Sussex had been only due to the personal character
of AElla, the first Bretwalda of Anglo-Saxon tradition, and to the valour of its
rugged inhabitants. As it had not been converted to Christianity, and had
therefore no literary ecclesiastics to record even the names of its rulers, it
sank soon after the death of that prince into a state bordering on nonentity.
They were the vassals sometimes of Wessex, sometimes of Mercia. Although
AEthelwealh, the first Christian king of Sussex, had received from Mercia the investiture
of the Isle of Wight and of the tribe of Meanwaras (in Hampshire, near the west
borders of Sussex, where so many names still recall their memory), he may
nevertheless be regarded as the vassal of Wessex, as well as his successors,
whether called heretogas (duces), kings, or under-kings." In the exercise
of his authority in Sussex, AEthelwealh had afforded assistance to Eadric King
of Kent ; but they both fell successively in battle when attacked by Ceadwealla
of Wessex, who, on being exiled from thence, had taken refuge in the forests of
Andredeswald, and had been converted to Christianity by Wilfrid. Having gathered
around him a considerable force, he took such a violent occupation of the
country as to deprive Berhthun and' AEthelhun, two ealdormen of Sussex, of all
authority, and in revenge they succeeded for a time in displacing him. On the
abdication however of Centwine, Ceadwealla succeeded as next heir to the throne,
A.D. 685, when he immediately took vengeance on them. Berhthun fell in battle,
" and Sussex was partitioned into several small states or kingdoms under
the supremacy of the King of Wessex." Lappenberg, i, 259.

A deed of Ceadwealla, still remaining, will illustrate this
remark ; and, as the original Latin text of this and the following charters has
been printed in full by Mr. Kemble,2 it will be unnecessary to
reproduce it here, as every scholar will be glad to consult with admiration and
gratitude a work so full of authentic materials for the early history of
England. A more summary and popular sketch of these ancient documents will be
better suited to the present occasion. This deed of Ceadwealla of Wessex is of
the date of August 3, A.D. 683, and " for the purpose of building a
monastery at Selsey for the servants of God," it grants "through the
Bishop Wilfrid (per episcopum) the land which is called Aldingeburne, and
Lydesige vi cassatos, and in Grinstedisgate vi, and in Mundham viii, in
Amberla and Hohtun viii, and in Waldham iiii, that is to say, of xxxii
tributaries (tributariorum) with the consent of Wilfrid the Archbishop,.
and AEthuald, _ Sub-king (subreguli)." After describing the
boundaries of the land given, it concludes thus:

"+ I, Wilfrid, the Bishop, confirm the lands given me by the
corroboration (roboratione) of the Cross of Christ-Birthwald,
Archbishop-Egwald, Bishop -

+ I, Eadberht, Bishop, have consented and subscribed--I- I, Ealdulf,
heretoga of the South Saxons (dux Sulk Saxonum), have consented and
subscribed."3

We may remark that the small holdings of land are here called
tributaries, and that the consent of the local chief Ealdulf is added to
complete that of the King of Wessex. Wilfrid is styled indifferently bishop or
archbishop, and, as having held the see of York, he was in fact both.

With respect to the terms cassati and tributarii used
in this, as well as manentes and dux which occur in other charters
subsequently referred to, it is very satisfactory to be able to offer an
explanation, throwing clear light upon the relation of the lords and tenants of
land in these times, on the authority of the Rev. John Earle, the learned
Anglo-Saxon Professor at Oxford. All members of our Society who feel an interest
in understanding the condition of Sussex in these remote times will not fail
gratefully to appreciate the aid of his valuable information. "Cassatus,
casatus, cassta, are. equally expressions for the quantity of land which
would maintain a family or household attached to a single house-casa, or cot ; familia,
familiatus, familiatus terrae, are other equivalent terms for the land of a
family. In Saxon this was called hiwisc h Sid, and abbreviated hid. See
Glossary prefixed to vol. iii of the Codex D glom., under the word hid.
Manentes (and some other variations of this word) did not differ from cassati,
meaning land enough for a family to dwell on. The cassatus or manens
was also called terra tributarii, that is, the land of a single
renter, and thus briefly tributaries. In the charter 1000 (see p.
181), Nunna grants curtly '20 renters' or tributaries, and an endorsement
putting the grant into Saxon calls it ` 20 hides,' so that the hide and
the land of a tributary are thus identified. This tribute or rent was called in
Saxon gafol, from the verb 'to give, gifan,' and
consisted of personal service, labour clone on the lord's land or road, or
errand-going, or providing draught or carriage by the renter's beasts ; or
produce in corn, ale, honey, &c.; or lastly, money. This kind of tenure was
only partial in Saxon times, but became universal afterwards under the feudalism
of the Normans. The king then became the supreme tenant in capite, which
in Saxon times was never thought of. The absolute owners of land were numerous
in early times, and the basis seems to have been that of citizen-right. See
Kemble's Saxons in England, cap. xi. The Latin expression dux in
early Saxon times is equivalent to heretoga strictly and etymologically,
as both words mean the leader of the military force. Practically it equals ealdormen,
that is, lieutenant of a portion of the country, one of whose functions was
to be heretoga or military chief in his district."

The next document is of the date of A.D. 692, and presents us
with a different set of names in authority, though holding apparently the same
relative rank as before. It is a grant by Nothhelm King of the Suth Saxons,
giving freely from his own possession (de mea propria possessione libenter) to
his sister Nothgith a portion of his land (which appears to be the same as in
the former grant, but increased in quantity to 38 cassatos), in order to
establish a monastery and build a church on it (ad construendum in ea
monasterium basilicamque erigendam).

"This Charter was written in the year from the Incarnation 692. + I,
Nunna, King of the Suth Saxons (Sulk Saxonum) have consented and
subscribed-+ I, Wathus, King, have consented and subscribed-+ I, Coenrad, King
of the West Saxons, have consented and subscribed-+ I, Ine, have consented and
subscribed with my own hand-+ I, Aldhelm, Abbot have subscribed- + I. Haguna,
Abbot, have subscribed." 4

As we thus have in the same document not only the sanction of
the King of Wessex, but also of Nothhelm and Nunna, two kings of South Saxons,
we may reasonably value these latter reges as equivalent only to duces,
heretogas, or ealdormen, exercising authority in different parts of Sussex. The
place is not named where the church is to be built, nor do the two abbots, whose
consent was not required, but who appear as witnesses only, mention their
monasteries ; but probably one of them belonged to Selsey. The phrase of "
subscribing with his own hand" may perhaps not imply with certainty that
King Ine was able to write, but only that he made his cross. On another occasion
a bishop of Winchester was so proud of his Latin and skill in writing, that he
thus ambiguously styles himself, " Ego AElfsinus Wintoniensis eeclesie
speculator proprio stylo earacteravi ;"5 and indeed many of the
other witnesses in the same deed seem to have indulged in fantastically varying
their affirmation, contrary to the usual staid practice :- ` I, Eadgar, brother
of the king, have quickly consented-Oda, the arch-prelate of the Dover church,
have corroborated with a specimen of the dear Cross-I, Cenwald, am present with
the heavenly sign-I, Oscytel, have agreed with a placable mind-I, Osulf, have
not refused."

To return however to the documents relating to Sussex. Nunna,
one of the sub-kings already mentioned, again appears in other charters. In one
of the year 714 he says :

" I, Nunna, King of the Suth Saxons, for the welfare
of my soul, will give some part of the land under my authority ( juris mei)
to Beadufrid and the brethren who inhabit the island called Seolesige,
where I wish my body may rest, that is to say, in Herotun iiii manentes,6and in Broclaeshamstede iiii cassatos, and Sidleshamstede iiii
----, in presence of the most reverend Bishop Eollan--1- I AEthelstan, the
king, have consented and subscribed-}- I . AEtheldryth, the Quecn have
consented." 7

In a later charter, A.D. 725, Nunna styles himself "
King of the Austral (Australium) Saxons," and for the love of God
and the heavenly country (celestis patrie) gives (attribuo) the
venerable Bishop Eadbirht certain lands-"xx tributaries," imperfectly
described in the mutilated MS., which ends thus:

"I, Nunna, King the first fortify (munio) this
with the sign of the Cross of Christ + I, Wattus, King, have consented and
subscribed + I, Coenrad, King of the West Saxons, have confirmed (rex West
Saxonum roboravi)--+ I, Eadbirht, Bishop, confirm the land granted to me
with the sign of the Cross of Christ -+ I, Ine, have consented and written (scripsi)
with my own hand."8

Nunna, King of the Suth Saxons, appears again as a
benefactor, probably to the same head of the Selsey monastery, where he was to
be buried, granting "to the servant of God named Behrfrid four tributaries
in Pipering, near the river Tarente, on condition that prayers should be offered
up for him day and night by the servants of God." Behrfrid seems to have
retired into the monastery, for the document continues, that he did not retain
the gift, but in his old age "having released himself from all secular
affairs, wishing to serve God only, and surrendering all his property with his
own body (cum semetipso), Eolla receives the money and accepts the gift,
with the consent of the brethren, and of our King Nunnan of West Sussex (Westsussexie)-+
This my gift I, Nunna, King, have subscribed with my own hand, all my earls (comitibus)
consenting together with me-+ Osric. + Eadberht. + I, Eolla, have consented
and subscribed-+ I, Beowa, have willingly consented that this land of my
jurisdiction, which my kinsfolk gave me, with the consent of King Nunna and
Bishop Eolla (King AEtilbert and Bishops Sigfrid, Beorran, and Eccan also
assenting), should be in their power while I am alive, and that after my death
they should have leave to possess and give to whomsoever they may please.-+ The
same land, I, Osmund, King, have redeemed at a price from my Earl Erran (pretio
redemi ab Errano comite meo) with the consent of our Bishop. -+ Osa,
Bishop."9

The grant of land next in date, August 3, 765, was made by
Osmund, who does not in this charter more distinctly describe himself, but who
styles himself king in another, five years later. "
At the request of his Earl Walhere (rogatus a comite meo) he enables him
to build a monastery on the land granted, which consisted of xii tributaries
called Ferring, with all their appurtenances, in fields, woods, meadows, rivers,
springs, and woodland, Coponora and Titlesham."-" + I, Osmund, have
subscribed this grant with my own hand-+ I, Osa, Bishop, have consented and
subscribed," &c.1°

Another grant of this Osmund, A.D. 770, shows him to have
been one of the sub-kings, or heretogas (duces) of Sussex (the witnesses proving
how numerous these were), and was given at the request of his earl and his wife,
Warbald and Tidburge. It put him into full possession of xv manors (manencium)
to endow " the church of the Blessed Peter the Apostle situated in a
place called Hanefeld." " + I, Osmund, King, have subscribed this
grant with my own hand-+ I, Osa, Archbishop-+ I, Hedde, Bishop-+ I, Eadbright,
Bishop+ I, Offa, with the above-named persons, willingly corroborate this page (hanc
paginulam manio)-I, Wilfrid, Bishop-I, Brodda, Heretoga (dux)-+ I,
Berhtwald, Heretoga-+ I, Eadbald, Heretoga-+ I, Esne, Heretoga-+ I, Aldwlf,
Heretoga." 11

Offa, the real Superior lord, again appears sanctioning a
grant of AEthelbert, King of South Saxons (Sussaxonum) in A.D. 774. The
purport of this charter, though imperfect, is to enable the venerable man
Diozsan to build a monastery by the gift of xviii manors (manentes) in
Wistrings. To this Seffrid, the Bishop,-Wyghere,-Beoba,-Wygaa, appear as
witnesses, followed by " I, Diozsan, in the liberty of my right, will give
to my dearest sister the land of this gift, which AEthelbert, King, has granted
me. + I, Offa the King, sign and confirm with my own hand-+ I, Osenedred
(probably for Cunethryth) the Queen, confirm and sign."12

The same "AEthelberht, King of the Austral Saxons,"
confirms another grant of half a tributary near the moor on the south side of
Chichester, with Bishop Wilfrid as witness.13

After this, in A.D. 780, comes a charter of Oslac,14
Heretoga of the South Saxons (dux Suth Saxonum), drawn up at Selsey. It
gave, " for the remedy of his soul to the venerable church of St. Peter the
Apostle, that is, to God, the land called Earnleagh, Tielesora, with all their
appurtenances." The crosses written in attestation were those of
Oslac-Gislehere, Bishop-Eadwulf I, Offa, by the gift of God, King of the
Mercians, have sanctioned the said land according to the petition of Wethun,
Bishop of the South Saxons, and will confirm it with the sign of the Lord's
cross."

It will be remarked that the sanction of the King of Mercia,
not of Wessex, seems at this period to have been requisite ; and that the bishop
was the medium to bring the matter duly before him. This arrangement continued
at the date, about A. D. 791, of a grant to Selsey by Ealdwulf, Heretoga, -Mix
of Suth Saxons. "Aldwlf, Heretoga, who am the donor, have placed on it the
sign of the Holy Cross-+ Gislehere, Bishop -Offa, King of the Mercians, on the
petition of Weytun, Bishop, confirm this woodland (of 3 tributaries) and
subscribe with the sign of the Holy Cross-I, Ealdfrid, King, have consented and
subscribed.""

The same king of the Mercians, the same bishop, and the same
heretoga, appear again in another charter of the same date, A.D. 791, which
shall be here given in full, not only as displaying the usual form of the grant,
but also as there will be much interest in the names of places introduced, those
of the place where signed, and of the land given. The former may with great
probability be identified, and the latter is remarkable as establishing at so
early a period the use of the word "Borstal," which has survived in
common parlance to this day in Sussex alone.

" In the name of the Holy Saviour ;-all the things, in
which we busy ourselves for this present world, scarcely endure to our death,
whereas what is done for eternal life is preserved beyond death-Wherefore I,
Ealdwulf, Heretoga of the South Saxons, have been minded to grant to Wethun, the
Bishop, and to describe a certain portion of a wood of my jurisdiction, with the
consent and license of Offa, King of the Angles, in the place called Cealtborgsteal,
for the church of Saint Andrew, which is situated in the territory called
Ferring. Moreover this wood is comprised within, certain boundaries : on the
western side, near the upper way which runs from the southern part towards the
north, and in the other part is open country around. Whosoever may be willing to
augment and amplify the bounty of this small donation, may God augment his share
in the book of life. But if, which God forbid, any one relying on tyrannous
power should wish rashly to withhold or diminish it, let him know that on the
trial of the terrible Day of Judgement he will fall with horror into the hands
of the living God. Moreover this has been transacted on the hill called
Biohchandoune in the year of our Lord Jesu Christ, 791, all the persons
named and described beneath agreeing and confirming-+ I, Ealdwlf, who have made
this gift, have first marked the sign of the Holy Cross.-+ I, Eadelwlf, consent
and subscribe." is

As no localities have been hitherto assigned for the
residence of this Sussex chieftain, or for the wood granted, we may endeavour to
add them to Sussex topography. I venture therefore the suggestion that "Biohchandoune"
is now known to us as "Buncton," and it is very gratifying to have
received for it the assent of the very ablest Anglo-Saxon scholars.

Situated a few miles from Ferring, for whose benefit the
grant was made, about three miles west from where Saxon kings dwelt in their
stronghold of Bramber, and two from Steyning, the selected abode of St. Cuthman,
where, according to Asser, Ethelwulf King of Wessex was buried,17
Buncton was convenient for communication with the Downs, and looks up to the
prominent point of them, crowned with the earthen entrenchments of Chanctonbury,
exactly opposite on the south. Although that camp had been occupied by the
Romans, its natural advantages were not likely to be overlooked by succeeding
warriors.

The hill, on the top of which Buncton Chapel stands, is now a
portion of Ashington parish entirely insulated within that of Wiston, a fact
which in itself seems to denote an important proprietor in old times (as again
in the case of Sedgewick Castle, near Horsham), and it slopes gently into the
Weald on all sides, except on the north-west, where it sinks more precipitously
into a woody glen, through which runs a small brook. There is a gable-ended
house, at the north-east foot of the hill, surrounded by a moat. The
accompanying woodcut of the steeper side from the north-west (for the drawing of
which I am indebted to the Rev. Mr. Medland of Steyning, whom I had the pleasure
of accompanying to the spot) will sufficiently explain the position of the
chapel on the hill. In the structure of this small chapel, so simple and so
massive that it might almost have been formed from the hall of a Saxon chief,
many Roman tiles appear, derived probably from the ruins of that Roman villa,
the hypocaust of which were recently discovered half a mile eastward.18

Mr. Earle, whom we have already had occasion to thank, has
most kindly favoured me with his opinion, that the contraction of the name into
its modern appearance, " the hill called Biohchandoune" of the eighth
century now changed into " Buncton," is a probable modernism, and that
the original name meant Birch Down. Instances of similar compression of ancient
names are readily found in this vicinity, where the Donechitoune, Botechitoune,
and Wistanestun of Domesday have become Duncton, Burton, and Wiston, while
Buncton appears there in an intermediate form as " Bongetune, with a wood
of ten hogs." The identity of the names is also considered more than
probable by the eminent Anglo-Saxon scholar, Benjamin Thorpe, Esq., to whom I am
much indebted for his communication on this and other points of this subject.

Being thus authorised to establish our chieftain of the South
Saxons on the hill of Buncton, we must endeavour to find " the place called
Cealtborgsteal " within the probable extent of his territory. In this
research neither the Rev. Henry Dixon, the present vicar of " the church of
St. Andrew at Ferring," nor the Rev. T. Medland of Steyning, have been
able, by their local knowledge, to trace any name corresponding to "
Cealtborgsteal." It is however easy to recognise in this word the
description of one of those steep ways leading up the northern face of the Downs
from the Weald, which still familiarly retain the name of Borstals, and of which
there are several in the neighbourhood, and indeed almost within sight of
Buncton. Steyning Borstal, Chantry Borstal, Washington Borstal, Amberley Borstal,
are thus situated ; and of these Washington Borstal, as the road which must in
all ages have been the easiest and most natural pass in the Downs, would seem to
answer best to the description of " the upper road from south to north,
lying on the west of the wood " given to Ferring. Mr. Dixon has also kindly
pointed out another locality, a field of eighteen acres, four miles from Ferring,
and insulated in Angmering parish, the small tithes of which are received by the
vicar of Ferring, while the prebend of Ferring in Chichester Cathedral is
endowed with the great tithes." This field, having on its west side an old
road running north and south, may have some claims to be the gift in question in
" Cealtborgsteal ;" but if so, it would be the only instance of any
Borstal in Sussex being found on the southern slope of the Downs.

The derivation of the word Borstal from the Saxon words beohr,
a hill, and stigele, a steep ascent, has been already discussed in a
former volume,20 on the occurrence of " Robert atte Borstalle
" in the Subsidy Roll of the Rape of Lewes, A.D. 1296, and to this origin
both Mr. Earle and Mr. Thorpe agree. The latter quotes Lye's Dictionary,
" Burgstal, burgstol, clivus, Cott. 209 ;" and in the present
instance we may consider the prefix cealt to signify cold, so that it was
a part of the " Cold Borstal " which was granted by Adelwlf. Mr. Earle
directs attention to the many cases in which the same form of "beohr "
for hill has stereotyped itself in Sussex names, as Cisbury, Edburton (Ecg,
beohr, tun, town on the hill edge or side), Burpham, Burton, Bury,
Chanctonbury, while Chiltington (Cilletune, Childetune, in Domesday), may
perhaps be an instance of the same prefix of cealt now changed, as also
Cold Waltham.

The word Borstal seems to be implied in a passage of Domesday
(p. 134) relating to East Sussex-" Essewelle Hundred-in Burgestaltune
tenuit Ulsi unam virgatam, liber homo fuit." And the same word, applied to
a steep hilly ascent, appears frequently in Textus Ro ffensis, referring
to a locality in Kent still retaining such name-" De Borestealle, Coenuulf
King of the Mercians gave 3 acres to Rochester," p.96; " Kenulfus Rex
Merciorum dedit Borchstalle," p. 152; Robertus de Borcstealle omnem suam
decimam de terra sua concessit S. Andreae aeternaliter," p. 166. This
latter instance resembles that in the Subsidy Roll of Sussex, before referred
to, where the Borstal had given name to the person. A grant of land, with the
custody of Bernwood in the county of Bucks, was made by Edward the Confessor by
the tenure of the Borstal horn .21 The latter half of the word has
clearly an analogy with the modern German " steigen," to ascend or
mount, and " steig " in Norway means a ladder, as does " stee,"
used in the North of England. "Stile" seems used by Chaucer in an
extended sense, as in some measure representing the country, in contrast with
" street," which is used to represent the town:

"Is it swiche peril with him for to mete,
I shal him seke by stile and eke by strete."
Pardonere's Tale, 126.

From Sussex
Archaeological Collections VIII,
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